Men’s Volleyball Dropped by No. 5 Penn State

Friday, February 4

University Park, Pa.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

1-6,0-1EIVA

#5 Penn State

6-3,1-0EIVA

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Princeton	18	22	7	0
Penn St.	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

February 04, 2022 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Princeton University men's volleyball team fell in straight sets to No. 5 Penn State (25-18, 25-22, 25-7), Friday night inside Rec Hall. It was the Tigers first Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) match of the season.

Sophomore James Hartley lead the team with nine kills, in addition to notching a team high six digs. Meanwhile, first year Henry Wedbush dished out 19 assists. Finally, playing in his first game this season, Alexander Mrkalj tallied a .750 hitting percentage.

At the beginning of the first set, the Tigers and Nittany Lions were neck and neck. Princeton answered each point scored by Penn State, resulting in a 5-5 score with five ties. The Nittany Lions would eventually gain the upper hand, leading by as much as seven on six different occasions, including the final score of the first set.

A Josh Coan kill would give the Tigers their first lead of the match at 1-0, with Princeton extending that lead to 5-1 thanks to two James Hartley kills. The Nittany Lions would close to within one of the Tigers at 5-4, before Princeton would put together a string of three goal leads. Princeton would stretch their lead to five on three different occasions due to some great play from James Hartley and Nyherowo Omene. After being down 18-13, Penn State would score six unanswered points to take a 19-18 lead. The Nittany Lions would go on to win the second set 25-22.

After losing a heartbreaking second set, the Tigers began the third set surrendering the first four points of the match. A 4-1 deficit eventually ballooned to 13-1, before the Tigers scored another point. At that point, the match was sealed, with Penn State cruising to a 25-7 third set clincher.

Up Next: The Tigers will face EIVA rival Saint Francis University on Saturday, February 5 at 6:00 PM in Loretto, Pennsylvania.